New Clark Whopper: Bush Won't Meet with War Dead Kin
Democratic presidential candidate Gen. Wesley Clark is rapidly developing a reputation for dissembling that rivals the image shared by his political patrons, Bill and Hillary Clinton.
During yesterday's candidate debate sponsored by MSNBC, the former NATO Commander blithely tossed off his latest whopper, complaining to moderator Tom Brokaw that President Bush refuses to meet with the families of U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq.
"We have an American president who visits the families of bereaved Britons [killed in the war] and won't visit our own families in this country. What is this coming to?" Clark railed.
The ex-military man's outburst couldn't have been more poorly timed, considering the fact that, at that very moment, Bush was meeting with the families of U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq at Fort Carson, Colo.
"[Bush] met privately for almost two hours with nearly 100 relatives, representing 26 of the killed Fort Carson soldiers," reported the New York Sun in Tuesday editions. "I want to thank the families of the fallen soldiers who are here with us today" the president told them. "Our prayers are with you. We ask for God’s strength and God’s guidance.”
Apparently Clark's reputation for dishonesty was an open secret within the Army. In Oct., retired Lt. Gen. Marc Cisneros branded Clark a liar in an interview with the Associated Press.
Citing a 1996 episode where both he and Clark were competing for the top job at the U.S.'s Southern Command, Cisneros said that Clark "just outright lied" to him when asked if he was also seeking the post. Clark eventually won the promotion, even though Cisneros had the Army's backing.
"I worry about his ethical standards regarding honesty and forthrightness," Gen. Cisneros told the AP. |
